Meggs

Backline is missing Goldie. Need a big final quarter from Paxy. Parry is being well held and Bannan quiet. Next 15 minutes will tell the story. Go Dee girls!

Yes, what a great win by our girls. The match showcasing some of the highest skills in AFLW, a thrilling edge-of-the-seat finish, plenty of goal scoring and best of all the Dees won. The North midfield of Kearney, Garner, Riddell, King et al has drawn many plaudits along their 8-game winning streak but on Saturday night our midfield led by Paxy, the dynamic duo Hanks and Mithen, a welcome return by Maddi G and L Pearce was equal to the challenge. At quarter time Stinear asked for better connection and more predictable forward entries and got what he asked for with 6 goals. Gee the quality of footy impressed and it’s entertaining and building a fan base. Pleased to read earlier in this thread that the venerable Old Dee, who like many traditionalists I know and who had dismissed AFLW as not ready are taking a fresh look. Being the only sporting alternative to the Lockdown on Saturday night I expect TVs tuned in and stayed for the duration. Several of our girls have begun the year in career best form with Tyla and Lily both recording around 20 possessions per game. Both girls impressively dispose of the footy, under pressure and through traffic. Quick kicks and neat handballs are so valuable as many girls still struggle to execute consistently. At a critical moment in Q4, Hanksy hit up TRex with a gem of a long range pass but the mark was unfortunately dropped. Unsung youngsters Shelley Heath (30) a junior Taekwondo Blue-belt who can really tackle and Casey Sheriff (18) a former basketballer who joined us as Daisy’s maternity leave replacement, have taken the wings and are looking stronger and more confident with each week. Looking forward to seeing our next match on Sunday 3:10pm at the Western Oval. Libby Birch up against her former team will no doubt be welcomed back to the Kennel. Go Dees.

Hardly surprising North came back, they are very good and very fit. If we match their intensity I think we can win. Our backline was a wobbly, Daisy’s kick-outs, Birch’s missed marks. It’s the North pressure. Go Dee girls.

St Kilda Coach, Peta Searle, bemoaned the concessions North has been given. “North are an outstanding side. They’ve got a great list. They started with a great list and they’ve been gifted top-10 players every year to top up,” Searle said. Not surprisingly North are the flag favourites. There looks to be a number of likely teams in the next group including the Dees. The draw will influence where we finish as there are some less competitive teams and we don’t play everyone. There has been obvious improvement with all our girls this year. With Petrevski out with a hammy and Maddi Gay back this week I wonder whether there will be further changes.

Have we ever scored 7 goals in the first half?

Suns looking good. Their backs are quick, our forwards seem lumbering in comparison. Hanks was great that quarter. Keep Goldie on she creates run. Liking Eliza so far.

The strongest team available has been selected. No Maddi Gay or Meg Downie, they will be a loss but we have added some run with the three newbies McNamara, Bannan and Fitzsimon and it’s great to see Shelley Heath in the side. Love Goldie, the girls love her too and walk taller when she’s out there. Expecting our team to perform really well tomorrow but as we’ve never played the Suns there is the unknown. Expecting Hanks, Zanker and L Pearce to dominate and hopefully our connection and conversion will win the day. Can’t wait until 3:10 tomorrow. Go Dees.

From MelbourneFC website: THREE new faces will be pulling on the red and blue this weekend, as the Demons announced their debutants for Round 1. With the players’ families gathering over the fence at Gosch’s Paddock, Alyssa Bannan, Eliza McNamara and Megan Fitzsimon received their guernsey’s before the Tuesday night training session begun. Megan Fitzsimon has been drafted with pick No.35, joining the Demons from Gippsland. The 18-year-old is an explosive footballer who can play through the middle and up forward, and she knows how to kick a goal. Fitzsimon has had a major impact during her time in the NAB League and will benefit from playing alongside some quality teammates at AFLW level.

Meggs heard that Bannan and McNamara are likely round 1 inclusions and is hoping Paxy and Downie recover from their injuries against the Cats. Speculating a best 21: Demons AFLW round 1 v Suns B: 2 M Downie 32 G Colvin HB: 23 S Goldrick 9 L Birch 8 S Lampard R: 16 L Pearce 4 K Paxman 5 T Hanks C: 18 C Sherriff 3 M Gay 30 S Heath HF: 16 A Bannan 12 S Scott 14 L Mithen F: 10 K Hore 29 E Zanker I: 6 D Pearce 22 E McNamara 17 N McEvoy 11 C Emonson 19 J Parry

Season 2021 kicks off against Adelaide at Casey Fields in a fortnight, so not long to wait now. I hear the Irish girls are still in Brisbane quarantining, so hopefully they get down here soon and get in some AFL practice. Would love to see Goldy line up against the Crows, she’s so fierce and full of run as evidenced in the Dublin v Cork Final and in 2020 AFLW. Apparently the girls had an intraclub hitout last week and there is a practice match this weekend at Geelong. Of the newbies I understand Bannan and McNamara are shaping as likely Round 1 inclusions. An offseason improver could be Jackie Parry who has really worked on her strength and all the girls are super impressed with the new facilities at Casey for AFLW. Good luck to the new (8 member) leadership team led by Daisy and Paxy with Lily, Maddi, Kate, Libby, Sarah and young Tyla Hanks who is only 20 yo.

Meggs loves to execute the drop kick and show his kids. He recalls Paul Goss, Norm Goss’ brother, kicking a drop kick goal from a free or mark about 15m out from goal at the G. It was really odd at the time as no one did drop kicks in 1976. Paul only kicked 2 goals in 4 games for the Dees according to Wikipedia and I didn’t see the other goal.

Whoever drafted the advertisement and or approved the final copy should be admonished. The opportunity is a really good one. As an undergraduate I would have applied in my day.

Our own Lachie Hunter thread has understandably gone cold. Heard he might be seriously considering the warmer climate with a 2020 Preliminary finalist. He is a gun player, no doubt, and will be only 26 yo when the 2021 season starts.

I hear Mitch McGovern might be part of the Saad deal...not quite Curnow, Walsh or Mackay but he's probably ok for them.

Supporting, not disrespecting, our loyal servants who have bled red n blue for their entire career is very important. 6 more games for 300 and or 13 more for the all time games played record as a Demon. Can Jonesy do it? Yes possibly, but to do this he must earn his spot each week, train hard and stay uninjured. His durable track record and professional approach will tick 2 boxes. It’s the first box which will likely prove the decider in how many matches he plays next year. Best of luck for 2021 Jonesy and go Dees!

Pleased about this, a real Demon warrior!

Bellyache versus C Scott career win:loss ratio - both 69%!

So is DrE = GNF and most probably FOS? OMG IAGTB...go Storm

Nice elbow by Danger

It’s a night game is it? Oh well there’s always the re-runs of M*A*S*H...

I am hoping Chairman Dan opens up the golf clubs next Saturday...not too confident that he will though.

God, if Geelong win too, I hope Dictator Dan lets us out to play golf next Saturday.

Collingwood 44 and 9 look like VFL players, who are they?

I was impressed last week with how many pies players, who I thought were ordinary, did so many extraordinary things. This week it appears so far at least that normal transmission has resumed.

Kent did well there